To be honest, I can't really understand why people would think the first and primary focus for someone making a visual novel would be for clout, or maybe prestige. To me, what I have typically seen is that people want to develop art and tell a story. It's true within the FVN space I've seen a heavy slant and focus towards particular topics and age groups, and to me that's been a bit overplayed. When I began reading String Zero, I was quite pleasantly surprised at the depth and the clear direction that the novel was meant to be fundamentally experienced rather than perhaps merely diverting. The amount of work put into the world building gives me Tolkienesque energy. Not to say that that was the intent, but it's the amount of work where you end up with indices and of course whole backstories and lore just to reinforce the story and immerse the reader in that world. It's why it holds up and draws many people to it.
The characterisation is great too, and I can tell there's thought there. When you meet a character it takes time to get a feel for the complexity of their personality. I like that I can be surprised, or that a character opening up doesn't feel like it's merely there for exposition. That takes skill and finesse.
So for me, I made the decision to support the project with a donation. I do try to buy each novel or donate to any that really speaks to me and excites me. I hope you'll keep working on it, and I look forward to further developments.